COLORS OF THE RAINBOW

                                                     
                                                           Down On Marigold Creek
                                               8 x 10                                           watercolor


The painting I've shown you today is my new Yellow Labrador painting of a laid back dog just hangin' out in a favourite place. And I can't think of any word that describes the Labrador better than 'laid back'. They are wonderful, sweet dogs. 
But it's not really this painting I want to talk about at this time. I wanted to talk a little bit about COLOR and the watercolor artist.  Have you guessed yet that I am wild about color?  I know of many watercolor artists who limit themselves to a very few colors and them mix the rest of what they need from those colors.  Some refuse to use any color that isn't translucent, while others nearly faint at the thought of using Titanium White or Chinese White. "Hey, this is watercolor!  You use the paper as the white!"   Gouache or Body Color aren't to be considered at all.   But gosh, look at all the luscious colors they are missing!
After years of experience and learning about Watercolors, I happily use a great many of the colors you find on the watercolor displays.      Mostly, I use Winsor Newton or Daniel Smith paints, because they are each a professional paint - rich in pigment, consistent, and reliable. (But be sure to buy the Artist's Quality in WN, not the Coteman unless you are a student, when the Coteman may be the better  choice for stretched student budgets. And remember that there are other fine choices out there too.  I've just mentioned the ones that I like best and that are easily available to me.) The only ones I tend to stay away from are the extremely non-permanent or Fugitive colors. Some of these colors are beautiful, therefor  more permanent versions have, thankfully, been developed.  I also have to add, that at this time, I don't use Gouache at all. I've found that I don't particularly care for  the way the chalky look of Gouache combines with the brighter, sparkle of watercolor.
  I choose to stay away from the limited palette of primaries plus one or two, with the rest being artist mixed.  Just think, the paint companies made all those beautiful colors; it seems a shame not  to use them. :-0
I use translucent colors of course, but I also use the opaque watercolors, and the trick there is that they need a careful hand if they are to retain the life and sparkle essential for a successful watercolor painting.  Once in a while, for a particular effect, I use a heavier body color, but it must be done sparingly, and the same goes for the whites - Titanium and Chinese.  I sometimes blend Chinese white with a color to obtain a soft pastel, and I use Titanium for tiny hairs, sparkles, and very tiny highlights.  I know I could, (and have) paint around those areas I want to remain white, or I could masque them, or scratch them out later, but of all these little watercolor tricks, I much prefer to use a very small amount of Titanium.  Once again, "tiny" and "sparing" are the watchwords here.
Oh, and there's one or two other little tricks that Titanium White can perform for you, but that would be telling :-)
So who's right, the artists who prefer to mix most of their own colors, the artist's who would rather switch to acrylic rather than use body color, opaque colors or the whites, or the artists like myself who enjoy using all colors plus white in the correct manner?
You're right!  Whatever you said, you're right!  No one is wrong here. Just as there is room for all styles of painting and all (better make that 'most') subjects, I firmly believe there is no wrong answer - there is room for all the ways that artists use watercolor to develop their individual styles.  Happy painting!!




Heather Anderson


www.heatheranderson-animalart.com




watercolor painting, Labrador Retriever Art, Yellow Lab art, Heather Anderson Animal Art, Sheltie Hollow

JOY IN PAINTING

                                                                   'WHO, ME?'      
                                                              watercolor,       8 x 10

Sheltie puppies just melt me.  One look, and I'm mush, and craving a new pup.  Mostly, I regain control, walk away, and go on enjoying the little guys I already have. I think that's a key to being happy.  Enjoy what you have and what you are doing.
Have you noticed that I seldom talk about what show I'm in or what competition I'm part of?  That's because I've been there, done that, a long time ago, and despite often winning  inclusion in shows and groups or the ribbons that came as a result, I didn't enjoy it.  With a show jury or a competition, there are always happy winners and devastated  "losers"  . . . .oh, how I hate that term!  And it didn't matter which category I ended up in, I was as uncomfortable a winner as I was when I didn't "get IN".  Shows and competitions were not making me happy.   Happily,  I don't feel as much need to  'be out there pushing' any more.  So I don't enter.  ( Hey, there's always an exception!) And I don't care to get into the politics of art, it's just not me.   I love to paint to the very best of my ability, to share my images and my view of the world with people who enjoy looking at them, and of course, I love to make a sale. It's not just about the money, it's knowing someone loves the painting/print enough to pay for it so they can look at it whenever they want to.  
I don't want to paint in a different style, I don't want to paint like anyone else, I'm happy doing what I do, the way I do it.    I think this contentment is called 'Being comfortable in my own skin."
Of course, my biggest joy in painting comes from spending time, real or imaginary, with the animals.  Now they know the meaning of JOY!

                                          Wind Runner  
                                                        watercolor                8 x 10


Heather Anderson,  Sheltie Hollow






   www.heatheranderson-animalart.com                         Sheltie art, Shetland sheedog art

Thinking Back to Move Forward

                                                 
                                                             GUARDIAN


I was awake late light night just thinking about painting. It occurs to me that I have spent a lot of time in the past year experimenting. I often didn't have time to paint for more than a few minutes here and there,  so it seemed like the time to try one or two big pieces that I could easily stay focused on for a month or more, treating every individual area as though it was a singular painting itself. I've experimented with adding people, something fairly new for me despite the life drawing classes from so long ago, and in each piece I do with a person in it, I can see improvement. I began to get serious about the backgrounds, and I like the direction I'm going in there. And although I have and use just about every color in the Winsor Newton range and lots in the Daniel Smith line, when I'm working on a painting, I've begun to choose a selection of colors and pretty much stay within that semi limited range for the whole painting.  I've put a lot of thought into what I want to paint, and why, and how I want to present the idea.  And after all that, when I look at a recent painting I've done, I know that I've reached a new level.   Sneaky things, levels - they don't arrive with a shout and a trumpet fanfare, they just sneak up on you and are suddenly there. 
I've also renewed my focus - I paint animals and the country life I live, and I want to share the peaceful and the fun moments and my delight in beautiful things of all sorts. 
Now that I think I know where I'm going next with my paintings, all I have to do is sit down and paint. :-)

GOLD AND BLUE ON PARADE

                                                                   
                                                        GOLD AND BLUE ON PARADE


The morning is bright and sunny, and it's horse show day.  In a few minutes, it will be time to ride into the ring in the Parade Horse class, and these two, with their brightly polished silver, blowing fringe and sequins, are just about ready.   
I love the brilliant color and movement in a Parade Class. It's all so Old Hollywood, and such fun to watch.
I've always enjoyed the 'behind the scene' activities in anything, and so many of  my paintings are about what goes on before or after an event.  You'll find just as much drama and emotion there as you will in the ring, albeit usually a quieter type of emotion.
In this painting, I used several references (as I always do) but in this one, I changed a grey horse to a palomino to enhance the bright atmosphere I was after.  The original barn was natural weather- bleached cedar (silver grey), but I felt it needed to be done in golden brown tones to keep the sunny feeling going,  and I changed the rider's clothes from a T shirt and breeches (she hadn't changed yet!) to the colorful turquoise Western outfit, complete with fringe, sequins, and matching hat. I guess there is still a little 'costume lady' blood in my veins, even after all these years. :-0
I'm pleased with this painting - I feel I have achieved the warmth and bright atmosphere I was after and created an image of a beautiful horse and rider enjoying a happy day.
GOLD AND BLUE ON PARADE is a 14 x 18 watercolor on Arches 300lb Hot Press.   Original, small prints, and note cards available.


www.heatheranderson.animalart.com          anderson.animalart@sympatico.ca

FINDING A VOICE - and using it

For quite some time now, I've wondered if I have "a voice", something that distinguishes my work from others; that elusive 'something' that immediately says that this is a Heather Anderson painting.  It can be hard to know, because I am up close to the painting and the inspiration behind it.
I've come to the conclusion that now I can say Yes, I do have a voice that makes me an individual, not just one of the crowd (where ages ago, we all started out).  My animal paintings are consistently light, bright, and even the ones that are filled with action, have a sense of peace or fun. 
Recently, there appears to have been some ridicule directed towards me because I choose to use a lighter hand with color - light and bright as opposed to vivid, and because I choose to draw my images instead of tracing them.  Vivid is good, it's exciting, and I long ago accepted that many people prefer to trace. If that's what feels right, do it. It doesn't feel right for me.  I need to draw the image in order to feel connected with it and I need to create a light, bright, clean image  where, when it comes to color and detail, less is sometimes more. ( This doesn't mean I don't use many layers of color or that I don't love using detail - it just means I'm selective about which details I use and which colors I put together and how intense I let them become.)  I was always taught to leave a place for the eye to rest, and even when I'm painting action, I make some small peaceful spot to rest.
  I know where I'm going, and I like the path I'm on.  I have every right to be here and talk about my art journey.  In short, I'm comfortable in my own skin and painting with my own voice. And really, isn't that what it's all about?


The painting I've used to illustrate this blog is APPALOOSA SPRING, a 14 x 18 watercolor on Arches 300 Hot Press.

Renewing the Focus

Sometimes it's a good idea to remind myself what it is I am actually doing when I sit down to paint. It helps  to re-affirm my focus so that I stay on track with what I'm painting and why, and hopefully it will help the viewer to understand what my paintings and I are about.  It's no surprise that I love painting dogs, cats, and horses, and I love painting my home valley and the animal events that take place there. I want to portray these creatures and scenes with the love and respect I have for them and hope that I can share it with you, the viewer.

When I start a painting, I keep in mind that one of my main goals is to portray the relationship between an animal and a human, because that is something that is SO important to me. I love that we can relate to another species, often without words, or in a dual sort of language that we have worked out together. I love the non-judgemental acceptance and unswerving devotion.  And it just blows me away that a thousand pound horse quietly, willingly, and gently does what I ask him/her to do. 

I also focus on the relationship between animals - I love to watch them interact.  We can learn so very much from them - patience, pragmatism, and the way they will use just enough clout in the herd/pack to get the necessary thing done, what ever that might be. For the most part, greed, jealousy, and aggression for the sake of it, does not happen.

And as shown in the first image in this blog, I take delight in portraying the animals in harmony with their surroundings.  To me, they always look as though they belong in whatever scene in which I find them, no matter where it is, or what the weather. 

I've talked about this bond, the interaction, the harmony, and my enjoyment of painting the English Riding events and the Western -type lifestyle  that co-exist around here in interviews, in my blogs, and on the social media, but it never hurts to sit down and remind myself why I'm painting what I paint.

RACE YA HOME!

Early one crisp November evening, just around moonrise, we were driving home. I (passenger!) caught a movement out of the corner of my eye,  and looking around, I saw some horses running along in their field, almost as if they were racing the car.  They were headed back to a barn that I could see a ways away, and obviously, were looking forward to their dinner.  It was a magical moment to see these guys thundering past, and we slowed the car to keep pace with them for the few seconds it took before their trail turned away to the barn. This moment has lived in my memory for several years, and I knew that sooner or later, I would paint it.  So here is my memory painting - "RACE YA HOME" , an 8.5 x 10.5 watercolor on Arches 140 Hot Press.
Heather Anderson
http://www.heatheranderson-animalart.com/

GUARDIAN

Shelties have beautiful, lush coats that come in a variety of colors. This painting is of a Sable Sheltie, and sable itself has lots of variations. A sable Shetland Sheepdog can be red-gold, pale blond, a warm sandy brown or a dark, rich mahogany, all with a snowy ruff and the darker ones usually have lighter blond on their faces and legs. We've had several Sable Shelties over the years, and each one has been different in color.
Shelties are herding dogs, and as such, they have an instinct to act as gentle guardians of their "flock", whatever that flock may be comprised of (from sheep to humans). We have found that some of ours have had a more pronounced sense of guardianship than others.  Piper was one of them.  He always felt he knew best, and the really irritating thing was, that he was often right!  I've based this painting, "GUARDIAN" on his sense of confidence and assurance. He was a wonderful, faithful, and reliable dog and we miss him every day. His wonderful memory lives on in our present Shelties.
"GUARDIAN", an 11 x 14 watercolor on Arches 300 hot press.  Original available ~ $625.  Small prints ($38) and note cards ($14 for 6) also available.
Heather Anderson
www.heatheranderson-animalart.com
anderson.animalart@sympatico.ca

WINTER DISTILLED

It's one of those typical winter days that happen more often than the sparkling, bright days that turn winter into magic. The clouds hang heavy and grey, and the world seems to be painted in shades of black and white. I think of it as Winter distilled - the very essence of winter. And it has a beauty all it's own, so I wanted to celebrate it in a painting.  When I saw this group of horses that were so completely in harmony with their surroundings, I knew I had my painting. Actually, there were two groups of two black horses and one group of two black and white horses, but this painting needed to be simple, so I was selective in what I put in.
The whole painting is deceptively simple. It's more about knowing what to leave out as it is about what to put in, and that takes experience and skill. I've been painting long enough to have achieved those things. I love detail, but sometimes, the advice of Thoreau must be followed: 'Simplify, simplify'.
This recently completed painting, "WINTER DISTILLED", is an 11 by 14 watercolor on Arches 140 hot press, and it is available.  $625.  Also available are notecards and small prints.
http://www.heatheranderson-animalart.com/
anderson.animalart@sympatico.ca

EAST, WEST, . . . Love 'Em Both!

How could I ever possibly choose?  The nice thing is, I never had to.  I live in a part of Eastern Ontario where there is lots of English riding activity.  We have shows for Jumping, Hunter-Jumpers, Dressage, horse show classes for Saddleseat, Arabian Native Costume, and Driving, and lots of stables that teach proper English Riding skills.  We also have a little Polo, as well as Fox-less Hunting. So many marvelous equine activities to enjoy! And I enjoy painting them all!
One of my dreams, (along with having a horse of my own), was a pair of shiny black English boots and a black velvet hard hat.  When I achieved both dreams, they were even better in reality, even though I had to trade my velvet helmet in for an upgraded, safer model. I still have the velvet one though!
But once I began my horse adventure, I quickly learned that there was a large alternate Equine culture in the Valley and surrounding areas.  My friends (and home barn) all rode mainly Western, and I quickly slid into that laid back, companionable way of riding and became aware of the thriving Western culture around here -  Quarter Horses, Paints, rodeos, Western classes at horse shows, Western Games,  friends gathering for a trail ride with maybe some music after, and a great Western tack shop. We even have a large number of beef cattle farms.  They are not ranches and we don't have  prairie or desert, or huge tracts of grazing land. And although we don't have cattle drives, I've often ridden through a herd, and followed along when my friend was rounding up some cattle that had crawled under a loosened wire fence and strayed down the road. (Have you ever seen a cow crawl? Hysterical!)  For years, many of our  country young people have headed out West to work on the ranches for a time before they come back to work on the family farm or start their own related business.
I fell in love with this aspect of the Ottawa Valley and from the beginning, I've loved painting it.
I have wondered for a long time why we have this in our area. Then recently, I read that the great painter of the West, Frederick Remington came here to paint in the Pontiac Hills, a range of extremely ancient mountains that have been worn down to craggy, stern, and very beautiful hills.  We live a short ten minute ferry ride across the river from these hills, and I have been able to see them in the distance all my life.  Did Remington bring the Western way with him, or did he come here because it was already in place?
I guess I'll never know, and in the end, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that we can enjoy both worlds here, and while I still enjoy watching the English way of riding and the shows, and I'll never part with my elegant black English boots, you can see by their battered appearance that the Western boots were used far more often.  The only thing still holding them together is love and great memories.

Heather Anderson
http://www.heatheranderson-animalart.com/

FIND A QUIET CORNER

Everyone needs one now and then - a place to sit quietly and contemplate, or just sit and "be".  For me, the barn was always a place of peace and a refuge from the worries of life and the madding crowd.  Once there, I was surrounded by non-judgemental horses, dogs, and barn cats who welcomed me into their world for a while.  Sometimes the barn cats even served snacks - I was  presented with a juicy mouse on more than one occasion. I always found the animals waiting, but I have to say, I never did come across a good looking cowboy snoozing in the tack room! (That tack room always held both English and Western saddles and bridles, as I live in an area of the East where there is a strong Western Tradition, but that's a topic for another blog.)
This painting shows a set-up not unlike my home barn.  There, the tack room was not as big or bright as the one I have painted here, but I could stand in it among the grain bins, the saddles, and other horsey accoutrements and look across at my horse as he dozed in his stall, waiting for me to get his saddle so we could go for a ride together. I could take as much time as I liked to soak in the peace of the barn, and I always left renewed and refreshed.
FIND A QUIET CORNER is a 12 by 16 watercolor on Arches 300lb Hot Press paper. In a few days, I will get a price on it and put it up on my website. But for the moment, I have it set up where I can look at it and enjoy the memories.

http://www.heatheranderson-animalart.com/